A man who had to have a tennis-ball sized tumour removed from his cheek first realised he was ill after water spurted from his nose when he was drinking water.
Phil Sledden-Houston, 51, was warned by doctors he would have just months to live if he didn’t undergo the surgery, which saw his cheek get sliced open to remove the cancerous tumour and part of his hip bone used to repair his face.
The dad-of-two smoked for decades before he was given the terrifying diagnosis in 2018 and is now urging people to stop smoking.
He said: “I started smoking at school when I was around 15 or 16 as everyone smoked back then.
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"I never thought about how it was affecting my health as I wasn’t a heavy smoker, I only smoked a few a day.
“I continued smoking for years and then in 2018, I was drinking water and some of it came out of my nose. I knew something wasn’t right, so I went to get help.
“I was referred to see a specialist at the dental hospital, who told me I had cancer and that it was serious, and I needed to have an urgent MRI scan and biopsy.
"A week later I was diagnosed with Stage 4 (palliative care) mouth cancer and the doctor told me I had a choice – to decide to have the operation within a month or die. He said I could have six months to live and maybe see Christmas. I had to quit smoking immediately.
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“I’ll never forget the surgeon telling me how serious it was, the tumour was in my cheek bone, and he thought it had been hidden for four years. It was the size of a tennis ball and had to be removed. It was a massive operation, and it took me months to recover.”
The operation took a team of surgeons more than 15 hours and Phil was unable to talk or eat properly for six months after. He was also left slightly disfigured as he sustained nerve damage during the surgery.
“It looks like I’ve had a tiny stroke, but I have been incredibly lucky as not everyone makes it through," Phil explained, "The medical team manged to remove the entire tumour, so I didn’t have to have chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
“In October 2019, I had a face lift which has given me much more confidence and I only have a faint scar now. One of the biggest challenges was learning to eat and talk just using my left-hand side of my face, as I have no teeth on the other side. I’ve now been in remission for just over three years, and I have never felt better.”
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Phil has since been able to return to his job in highways maintenance and since quitting smoking, he says he sleeps better, no longer feels out of breath and had more energy.
He added: "My taste improved and I also started to save money, all of these were incentives to stop smoking but being diagnosed with cancer was definitely my wake-up call as I would have continued smoking.
"I needed the shock of being diagnosed with stage 4 cancer to stop, and I urge everyone to give quitting a go before you end up like me.”
Topics: UK News
Claire Reid